CAS archaeologists test new research tool

Last month, a team of CAS archaeology faculty members and students tested out their latest research tool: a remote-controlled hexacopter. The small six-rotor flying tool, equipped with a camera, will be used in Turkey this summer to survey dig sites. 

The remote-controlled hexacopter, seen here against the backfrop of the Sphinx at Giza,  will be used in Turkey this year to document known archaeological sites [Credit: MyHelis hexacopters]

Beginning this May, the hexacopter will be used in Turkey by the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey, a Boston University archaeological project under the co-direction of Christopher Roosevelt, associate professor of archaeology,  and Christina Luke, senior lecturer in archaeology. There, it will be used for high-resolution aerial photography relating to the documentation of known archaeological sites, the discovery of previously unknown sites, and the monitoring and documentation of ongoing illicit looting and destruction of cultural heritage.

The GPS-capabilities of the hexacopter will enable the efficient collection of oblique and vertical images for photogrammetric production of three-dimensional surface models (or Digital Elevation Models – DEMs). Accordingly, it will be able to record  high-resolution three-dimensional characteristics of sites of all sizes in a fraction of the time required using traditional, ground-based surveying methods, saving not only time, but huge amounts of effort and, of course, money, in the process. Not only will these accurate surface models allow analysis and visualization opportunities, but also they will preserve accurate digital models of sites and monuments for posterity, an important prospect in all areas of the world witnessing the destruction of cultural heritage resulting from looting, development, and war.